Bill Of Rights Dbq Essay

The ratification of the US Bill of Rights took place in 1789. The Bill of Rights supply citizens of the US with inalienable rights that they are born with and acquire if they immigrate. Since it was ratified, there have been several occasions in which these rights have been infringed upon during times of conflict, in which the United States government attempts to shield the nation from conflicting issues inside or even outside the country because of fear. The government believes that this unconstitutional action to restrict citizens’ rights must be done to protect citizens of the United States, but in an attempt to protect others, many become mistreated. Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt set three prime examples

His action brought restrictions to people's’ rights in conflicting Northern borders where nearly everything was controlled by the government. Freedom of speech and press was curbed along with the introduction of Martial Law which requested military power to bring order to these conflicting borders. This resulted in chaos throughout, especially in Missouri where the state was divided. Restrictions on several amendments were brought to place, especially the first amendment. People were unlawfully detained and arrested by the military via Martial Law for speaking their political beliefs, mostly protesting Democrats because of opposition to the Republican president. Additionally, anti-war newspapers and protesters were detained for the same reasons. The suspension of Habeas Corpus brought nearly thirty-eight thousand unconstitutional arrests to innocent civilians by the end of the Civil War and because of the suspension those who were arrested were denied the right to judicial proceedings or review. In the end, Lincoln found it easier to take away these civil liberties than restore them

He believed that America was integrating wrong due to hyphenated-Americans and that they would be a problem when it came to the war. Momentarily after the US entered the war the government became paranoid of these hyphenated-Americans possibly becoming spies or protesters against the war so they restricted their rights. A fearful Congress enacted the Espionage Act on June 15, 1917 to deal with espionage and treason. This act interfered with the first amendment by prohibiting disloyal actions or anti-war talk towards the US government and its allies to diminish the interference of military efforts. In result, over two thousand civilians were arrested for ten to twenty years for rebelling against the war effort or the draft with fines up to ten thousand dollars. When the detained citizens requested to have a court ruling the courts refused. Additionally the Sedition Acts, amendments to the Espionage Act, were enacted on May 16, 1918 and brought more restrictions to citizens’ civil liberties. It made it illegal to write or speak anything of American involvement in the war, it also made it a federal offense to use profane, disloyal, scurrilous, or abusive language about the Constitution, the government, the US flag, or the American uniform. To sum it up, the Espionage and Sedition